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Political Argument in Edmund Burke's Reflections: A POLITICAL ARGUMENT IN EDMUND BURKE‟S REFLECTIONS: A CONTEXTUAL STUDY BY BEN JAMES TAYLOR A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Political Science and International Studies School of Social Sciences The University of Birmingham December 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The present thesis offers a historical interpretation of Edmund Burke‟s classic text, Reflections on the Revolution in France. By contrast to the existing literature, it studies Burke‟s work as a purposive intervention in a domestic problem complex that turned upon the ways in which the French Revolution was refracted in various British contexts of argument. In short, British radicals put the principles and the very idea of the French Revolution to unique uses, employing them to increase the legitimacy and potency of their own arguments. To this end, they appealed to the authority of the French Revolution to augment their dynamic reading of the English Revolution of 1688, and denounced the lack of liberty in Britain by holding the French system of representation up as a model which would provide a genuinely accountable and participatory government. The thesis illustrates Burke‟s alarm at these developments, which he perceived as constituting a democratic threat to Britain‟s mixed constitution; such fears were compounded by the political behaviour of his moderate contemporaries, many of whom embraced natural rights arguments that were at odds with their aristocratic conceptions of politics. Guided by a critical acceptance of Quentin Skinner‟s interpretative injunctions, the thesis investigates Burke‟s response to these dilemmas by situating his utterances on the English Revolution of 1688, representation, and the French army in prevailing intellectual and political contexts. Adopting this approach, it highlights the complexity and originality of Burke‟s political argument by demonstrating that, in each case, Burke was manipulating the ideological conventions of Whiggism. Most significantly however, it stresses the anti-democratic character of his illocutionary intentions, for, in countering the democratic danger, Burke was stripping Whiggism of its populist potential and recommending increasingly conservative forms of political action. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have incurred numerous debts whilst writing this thesis. It is perhaps most appropriate to begin by acknowledging the Economic and Social Research Council for their generous financial assistance, without which I would have been unable to undertake the project. Their research awards offer incredible opportunities to budding scholars, and I am extremely grateful to have been a recipient of such an award. I would also like to express my appreciation of the patience and dedication shown by my supervisors, Dr Steve Buckler and Dr Richard Shorten. In helping me to prepare my original ESRC application, Dr Buckler introduced me to the methodological debates in the history of political thought, and, more specifically, to the historical approach of Quentin Skinner. This was an immensely important intervention which has been instrumental in shaping the resulting thesis and, more broadly, my general attitude to the discipline. Dr Shorten came onboard at a later stage in the project, yet quickly brought himself up to speed and has ever since displayed a keen interest and a willingness to assist. I greatly appreciate the fact that they have often made themselves available at (very!) short notice, and the thesis has undoubtedly benefited from their extremely helpful advice and suggestions. During the winter of 2009 I undertook an institutional visit to the University of Florida. This visit turned out to be an extraordinarily valuable experience, both from a personal and a professional point of view. My mentor in the States, Dr Daniel I. O‟Neill, showed fantastic enthusiasm for my visit, and his encyclopaedic knowledge of Burke studies proved a huge source of inspiration. Our lengthy discussions were challenging, stimulating, but above all incredibly useful in helping me to articulate my argument in a more precise manner, and to realise the distinctive contributions that I can make to the discipline. Dr O‟Neill offered outstanding support and guidance while I was in Florida, and has continued to offer similar levels of support since my return home. He has contributed tremendously towards the development of my thesis, and my broader academic career and his input has gone a long way towards helping me to realise my academic potential, a debt which I hope to have the chance to repay in the future through our continuing friendship. The most significant acknowledgment is reserved for my long suffering girlfriend, Caroline. Caroline has proved an eagle eyed proof reader, and has offered some extremely helpful comments over the course of my project. She‟s listened to my ruminations about Skinner and Burke to the point of indoctrination, and certainly suffered from this „contagion‟ (as Burke might have termed it) when attempting to shoehorn Skinner‟s pearls of wisdom into her own PhD on New Labour. Apologies! However, my debt to Caroline goes far deeper than her ability to offer insightful comments. Her constant and unfailing confidence in me is quite simply remarkable, and I would never have been able to complete the thesis without her love and support. It is important to also acknowledge the support of my friends. Although I have found writing the PhD enormously rewarding, it is inevitably a rather draining process. Consequently, it has been extremely helpful to be able to undertake the experience with such a lively and interesting group of colleagues in the Department. Moreover the distractions provided by numerous friends who are not involved with academia has been invaluable in helping me to keep going through what has occasionally been a very testing and difficult period. To this end, Accrington Stanley, Motown, and Guinness also deserve a special mention. I would finally like to express my gratitude for the incredible support provided by my family over the course of this project. Despite his amazement that I remain at the University, six years after he graduated, my brother Dan has kept my spirits going with a constant supply of witticisms (usually robbed from The Office), and humorous tales of his adventures in Manchester. Dan is the best brother I could imagine having, and I hope to be able to join him in his escapades now that I have my weekends back. An unexpected consequence of the thesis is that it has bonded me even closer to my dad. I could not ask for a better father, and treasure the guidance and support he has shown in certain personal matters over the past few years. In pursuing an academic career, I hope to make him proud, even if I‟m unlikely to ever make it as a professional footballer. Lastly, I owe a terrific debt to my mum. During this process, trips to visit her and my step-dad, Steve, have often saved me from disappearing into the mire and I think fondly of times when their delicious home cooking and Steve‟s competitive Wii challenges have raised my flagging spirits. Along with Caroline, my mum possesses an unswerving confidence in me. From creating books to develop my reading abilities at a young age, to offering her proof reading skills during the recent Christmas holiday, she has always been there for me. She has instilled in me a love of learning that has motivated me to pursue the PhD, and is, in short, the most inspirational person I have ever met. I owe everything I am to her, and, as a result, I would like to dedicate this thesis to her. BJT Moseley, 2011 ABBREVIATIONS CORR The Correspondence of Edmund Burke HPHOC History and Proceedings of the House of Commons PH Cobbett's Parliamentary History of England PR Parliamentary Register WS The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Understanding the British focus of Burke‟s Reflections 2 Adopting a Skinnerian approach to the study of Burke‟s Reflections 5 Keywords: clarifying the use of certain key terms 10 Structure of the thesis 11 A note on the choice of texts 15 CHAPTER ONE: HOW TO DO THINGS WITH BURKE: A CRITICAL 17 REVIEW OF BURKE STUDIES Section One: Interrogating the „Burke problem‟ 18 1.1 Resolving the „Burke problem‟ by highlighting the fundamental 18 incoherence in Burke‟s political thought 1.2 Resolving the „Burke problem‟ by highlighting the fundamental 21 coherence in Burke‟s political thought 1.3 The logic and consequences of the coherentist resolution of the „Burke 24 problem‟ Section Two: Interpretations of Reflections 31 2.1 „Traditional‟ interpretations of Reflections 32 2.2 Aesthetic interpretations of Reflections 36 2.3 Political languages in Reflections 40 Section Three: Outlining a Skinnerian approach to the study of Burke‟s 44 Reflections 3.1 Quentin Skinner‟s approach to the history of political thought 45 3.2 Studying Burke‟s political thought as political action 50
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